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Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Illustration Friday: Opposites

This week's topic developed into 2 separate illustrations in which I tried to include multiple opposites. So we have the big happy elephant enjoying being free to eat his little peanut in the city on a hot summer day, and then there is the tiny unhappy mouse trapped inside a country house while attempting to snack on big cheese on a cold winter day.

I definitely enjoyed drawing and coloring the elephant, but kinda lost interest in the mouse. While I was finishing this up I heard Stephen Colbert announce that tonight's word was 'Opposite Day'. How appropriate!

Hand drawn sketches colored in Painter IX.

35 comments:

Jay said...

great! I like these cute characters.

Franfou said...

wow thats a great piece of portfolio !
the elephant is very well designed !

Christine Lim said...

Great idea. I like the colours you have chosen.

Willie Baronet said...

Nice work. Elephants are so misunderstood...

constance wong said...

This is very nice :) I like the colours very much.

Unknown said...

great colors and illo! I love it!

Steve H said...

great illo. i love the big and little and little and big theme!

Diane Duda said...

These are great! I love the opposite colors. Also love all the little details - like the fancy legs on the park bench and the kitchen sink.

Anonymous said...

i like this. the expressions and the details in each are wonderful.

flossy-p said...

Isn't it lovely that something as simple as a peanut and a bit of sunshine can make for such a happy elephant. I kinda wish I was him actually, much more so than that unfortunate country mouse who's eyes are WAY bigger than his belly!

Very cool illo, I love the colours and the small details: the delicate feet of the park bench, arials on top of the buildings, and wallpaper pattern. That is a very convincing mouse trap too.

Anette Heiberg said...

What a fun idea! And they make me smile!

Anette
www.wynlen.no

Amy Zaleski said...

So charming! Clever use of so many opposites. You even included sort of opposites on the color wheel (orange-ish and blue)! Colbert Report fan, huh? Me, too. Opposites always remind me of George Costanza too...he did the opposite of what he normally would and got a date and a job with the Yankees!

claudine hellmuth said...

wonderful illos! I love how you switched the palettes in each illo and all the opposites you included. I had fun finding them all :)

Arioch said...

So funny! It's really hard to be a mouse!

Marco Antonio Sepúlveda said...

Hermoso.
Me gusta mucho tu ilustración.

Saludos.

Jules said...

They are BOTH great. Really nice line work.

Linda said...

Great timing, funny wonderful illos.

Angela Matteson said...

Thanks everyone for the sweet comments. It means so much to know that you stopped by for a visit.

Amy, I had completely forgotten about George Costanza and his experiment with opposites. That was hilarious!

Susan Mitchell said...

Very cute! I love the elephant :)

Unknown said...

WOW!! THis is brilliant!! Love the idea and great characters!! Sooo CUTE!! Bravo!

albina said...

Wonderful -- love your mouse, what a pain ( and sacrifice )one must bear for that hunk of cheese:)

lil kim said...

So lovely! love the elephant with his big peanut and like how the background/foreground colours are opposite too.

stephanie said...

What a great piece. I love how everything is opposite. Their size, the size of their food compared to them, time of day, the background setting. You thought of everything!

Michele Melcher Illustration said...

These are great!

Anonymous said...

Ha ha this is great! love your style! I really enjoyed the piece with the mouse!

irisz said...

omg they are so sweet

mel said...

very creative and great illo! :)

carla said...

These are great! Everything is opposite, even the colors! The elephant is my favorite...he looks like he's accustomed to sitting on the park bench eating his peanut. These are so delightful:>

Anonymous said...

The elephant is really cute, but I love the mouse. His expression is perfect - desperation and self-exasperation.

Pickledog said...

The elephant is very cute. He looks so careful, like he is going to saviour every bite of the peanut.

Poor little mouse giving it everything he's got. Pull that tail little cheeser!

Super illos!

Tricky Trev said...

Elephants are cool! I once saw an Elephant poop into a pool of water at the zoo, and the splash hit a group of 4 year olds!!! That was AWESOME!

Mice are okay...but they creep me out. Your mouse is much better than what one might expect from someone who "kinda lost interest."

Both are good.

:)

Anonymous said...

this is really cute. :)

Roz Foster said...

Adorable, Angela. Along with all the opposites you listed, I love the integration of colors in these piece, too. The foreground of blue and background of yellow on the left and vice versa on the right delights the eye.

tiffini elektra x said...

Oh they are both so cute!! I love the background in the elephant one - your colors are so wonderful. The mouse one is just adorable!!

rosmayd said...

beautiful all ilustrations
saludos.